Police department using seized assets to upgrade software

A West Virginia police department is using funds from seized assets to update record keeping and data access.

Morgantown Police Chief Ed Preston tells The Dominion Post that officers aren't able to see driver's license and registration information when in the field and are "working off 1980s technology."

The police department is using almost $150,000 for the upgrade, to purchase software that will bring the department in line with other agencies locally and across the state. The new system will allow officers to access the department's server in the field and maintain access to geocoding and mapping data.

Preston says a similar change in 2007 cost $1.2 million. He says it will probably take a year to get the system in place and everyone up to speed.